So, here I am - a day after the rantings of my 43rd birthday. I decided to not
spend the day doing laundry, but do something with the day.
I headed uptown Charlotte and checked into the hotel and got a room on the 16th floor with a nice view of an office building, a condo building and landscapes behind. Shortly thereafter I went for a walk to the Levine Museum of the New South. The museum looks at the history of Charlotte and the Piedmont Region from it's founding to today. Charlotte grew because it was at the crossroads of the two main Indian trading routes of the time which are now known as Tryon and Trade Streets. North Carolina was good for two different crops - cotton and tobacco. The environment around Charlotte was much better for cotton, so that became the crop of the region. After the Civil War, the business people in the region wondered why they were sending all the raw cotton to the textile mills of
New England and began building their own mills. The mills would included villages of three or five room homes for the mill workers and their families. A company store, room for a garden, livestock, churches and schools were all part of these mills. More and more farmers came off the farms to the mill towns to work the mills because it was less backbreaking work. Cannon Mills and Springmaid are two of the mills that are still in existance today that started in this area during this era. As a matter of fact, the city of Kannapolis, NC was founded by Cannon Mills. Because of importance of cotton as the cash crop, Charlotte was an imporant city in the region, so as the textile businesses began to fade, then banking took over as the main industry of the city starting in the 70's. Many mills still exist but are being used for many other purposes. Today Greater Charlotte is the home of eight Fortune 500 companies: Bank of America, Lowe's, Wachovia, Duke Energy, Nucor, Sonic Automotive, Family Dollar, Goodrich and SPX - this ranks Charlotte #6 on the list of cities called home by the most Fortune 500 companies, tied with Philadelphia and Minneapolis. Of course, being the home of two of the three largest banks in the US - also makes Charlotte second only to NYC in importance in the financial world. It's a long way from a speech made by FDR in Charlotte where he called the South the largest economic concern of the country! The visit to the museum was very interesting and I learned a lot about my new home.
spend the day doing laundry, but do something with the day.I headed uptown Charlotte and checked into the hotel and got a room on the 16th floor with a nice view of an office building, a condo building and landscapes behind. Shortly thereafter I went for a walk to the Levine Museum of the New South. The museum looks at the history of Charlotte and the Piedmont Region from it's founding to today. Charlotte grew because it was at the crossroads of the two main Indian trading routes of the time which are now known as Tryon and Trade Streets. North Carolina was good for two different crops - cotton and tobacco. The environment around Charlotte was much better for cotton, so that became the crop of the region. After the Civil War, the business people in the region wondered why they were sending all the raw cotton to the textile mills of
New England and began building their own mills. The mills would included villages of three or five room homes for the mill workers and their families. A company store, room for a garden, livestock, churches and schools were all part of these mills. More and more farmers came off the farms to the mill towns to work the mills because it was less backbreaking work. Cannon Mills and Springmaid are two of the mills that are still in existance today that started in this area during this era. As a matter of fact, the city of Kannapolis, NC was founded by Cannon Mills. Because of importance of cotton as the cash crop, Charlotte was an imporant city in the region, so as the textile businesses began to fade, then banking took over as the main industry of the city starting in the 70's. Many mills still exist but are being used for many other purposes. Today Greater Charlotte is the home of eight Fortune 500 companies: Bank of America, Lowe's, Wachovia, Duke Energy, Nucor, Sonic Automotive, Family Dollar, Goodrich and SPX - this ranks Charlotte #6 on the list of cities called home by the most Fortune 500 companies, tied with Philadelphia and Minneapolis. Of course, being the home of two of the three largest banks in the US - also makes Charlotte second only to NYC in importance in the financial world. It's a long way from a speech made by FDR in Charlotte where he called the South the largest economic concern of the country! The visit to the museum was very interesting and I learned a lot about my new home.After the museum it was time for dinner - in the mood for seafood, I ventured o
ut toward the Convention Center to dine at a restaurant named Aquavina. It is located on the second floor of one of Wachovia's office buildings in Uptown Charlotte. It was just a short 6 or 7 block walk from the hotel - and even though it was over 90 out, it was a nice walk along Tryon Street. Some interesting options on the menu and the presentation was gorgeous. I started my meal with a Peach Passion Martini (Stoli Peach, Blue Curacao and pineapple juice) which was very refreshing on such a hot day. For an appetizer I chose the Asian Pear Salad - greens wrapped in procuitto served on top of sliced pears with dressing on the side. Dinner was Surf & Turf Three Ways - when I read the menu it listed three ways the Surf & Turf is prepared. I thought that you choose which way you wanted it prepared, but it is served all three ways - three plates on a platter - each a miniture version of a full meal. It was very good and even cooked well done as I like! With dinner came the second martini - a Pom Pom which is Pomegranate Liqueur, Stoli, Triple Sec and Lemon Garniture - I enjoyed the Peach Passion better, but think of all the anti-oxidents I got in the Pomegranate Liqueur! Since it was my birthday I felt that desert was in order and had a Carmelized Banana and Chocolate Turnover with banana ice cream. Again, very good! Overall, a very enjoyable meal!
ut toward the Convention Center to dine at a restaurant named Aquavina. It is located on the second floor of one of Wachovia's office buildings in Uptown Charlotte. It was just a short 6 or 7 block walk from the hotel - and even though it was over 90 out, it was a nice walk along Tryon Street. Some interesting options on the menu and the presentation was gorgeous. I started my meal with a Peach Passion Martini (Stoli Peach, Blue Curacao and pineapple juice) which was very refreshing on such a hot day. For an appetizer I chose the Asian Pear Salad - greens wrapped in procuitto served on top of sliced pears with dressing on the side. Dinner was Surf & Turf Three Ways - when I read the menu it listed three ways the Surf & Turf is prepared. I thought that you choose which way you wanted it prepared, but it is served all three ways - three plates on a platter - each a miniture version of a full meal. It was very good and even cooked well done as I like! With dinner came the second martini - a Pom Pom which is Pomegranate Liqueur, Stoli, Triple Sec and Lemon Garniture - I enjoyed the Peach Passion better, but think of all the anti-oxidents I got in the Pomegranate Liqueur! Since it was my birthday I felt that desert was in order and had a Carmelized Banana and Chocolate Turnover with banana ice cream. Again, very good! Overall, a very enjoyable meal!Just outside the restaurant is a little park called The Green that looks like it should be on the edge of a harbor or lake, but with no water in Charlotte, I knew that wasn't the case. In this park they put on Shakespeare plays on a small stage with a grassy area to sit. The whole park has a literary theme with pages out of books and directional signs that use city names to make literary names E
MILY, Minnesota & BRONTE, Ontario.
MILY, Minnesota & BRONTE, Ontario. It was then back to the hotel to rest a little while and then out to the bar for a couple of Newcastle's to end the night.
Other big news - I have signed a lease for an apartment - but more information on that in the next posting.
Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you soon!
1 comment:
Two postings in a row!???!?!! Wow!!!
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